We encourage the practice of ethical archaeology in the discovery of the history of Huronia (northern Simcoe County) through archaeological research and discussion of the historic record and oral tradition. Please feel free to comment and or join and post on the blog. Blog contents do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Ontario Archaeological Society or the Huronia chapter.

3 comments:

It is time to wrap up this post on our blog contest. Below is my response to some email correspondence that inspired this blog contest post. - Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment on Bill Gibson’s site. Bill was kind enough to forward it to me for my response and he did so promptly but I let it slide till now.Your comment: - “During my fathers young years in Mount St. Louis, he and several local kids were digging in a exact location where my family built the monument to Brebeuf and uprooted evidence that, Brebeuf was actually burned at the stake in the village of St. Louis on the hill overlookoing Copeland forest, in the exact location of the monument. The evidence was forwarded to St. Marie and the catholic church for verification. My understanding is that these artifacts are the true deal, however the church is reluctant to publish the findings because of the money and publications put to St. Marie among the Hurons being the site.”If my recollection is correct the only monument (cairn)on a historical/archaeological site near the village of Mount St. Louis is on the West 1/2 lots 7 Con 4 Medonte Twp. At the time it was recorded by A F Hunter (1901) it was the Flanagan farm. This site was a candidate site for the Huron/Wendat village of Teanaostaiae and the Jesuit Mission of St. Joseph ll were Father Anthony Daniel was killed (he was burnt in the church) by the Iroquois in an attack on that village on July 4th 1648 I believe. There was reported to be a fused candlestick and a water sprinkler found somewhere on that farm that some assumed indicated that this site was indeed a Jesuit mission site. The site also seemed to be consistent with the reported distance of St. Joseph ll from Ste Marie as recorded in the Jesuit Relations. A Jesuit priest by the name of Arthur Edward Jones who was employed by the Jesuits to find the various site of Martyrdom in Huronia was also convinced that this was the site of St. Joseph ll and hence the site of Anthony Daniels death.There was another site know as the Fitzgerald/Train farm on the east ½ of lot 12 Con 4 Medonte that was also a candidate for St. Joseph ll and in the 50s I believe Wilf Jury made a report to Western University claiming that based on size and the nature of artifacts found, the Train site was the best candidate for St. Joseph ll and interest in the Flanagan site diminished.Was it the Flanagan farm site that your family built the monument to Brebeuf?According to the Jesuit Relations Brebeuf’s Martyrdom took place at the Jesuit Mission of Ste Ignace in March of 1649. His body was recovered a few days later and buried at Ste Marie. There is a monument to Brebeuf at the proposed Ste Ignace site in Tay Twp but it is nowhere near the village of Mount St Louis in Medonte. The Shrine claim to have evidence that the Tay Twp site is in fact Ste Ignace but this evidence is in dispute with current archaeological thinking..I hope that my ramblings make some sense and that we can continue our dialogue in an effort ensure that your father’s memories and your family’s role in preserving Huonia’s past are not lost to the winds of time.